' right now, and tight now, and hopefully don't know right now, and hopefully he will be the and be able to play the grand slam. we'll have more sport for you later on the bbc news channel. this is bbc news, the headlines: a key witness speaks publicly after ghislaine maxwell was found guilty of grooming underage girls to be abused byjeffrey epstein the number of daily covid admissions to hospital in england has nearly doubled in a week — from just over a thousand a week ago to more than 2 thousand. europe looks to build its defences against a new wave of covid infections, as the number of cases continues to surge. days after launching into orbit — it's the "make or break" moment for the james webb space telescope — as it starts to unfold its tennis court—sized sunshield.

my my name is andy. it's a journey that did not start when i found out what the word transgender was. honestly it started when i was born. coming to terms with my identity felt like trying to deny a part of myself that i thought would never be reality. i kind of felt like if someone put a cap on a volcano and i was just sitting on top of that volcano not trying to let that l. but in the end the volcano exploded. i want to be referred to as mike weir one from now on. —— as andi from now on. i was mostly scared of all of the

people around me. what they would think. i'm so happy! after the volcano exploded, all of these flowers and trees and life flourished because the ground was nourished. but it's not all peaches and cream, sunshine and lollipops. things didn't go as planned. i can't live like this any more. fear really does do something to a person. this is my story. this is who i am. i actually was born in queens new york. i was there for five years until he moved straight from there

to texas and we have not moved anywhere ever since. as a kid and i definitely worked a lot of boys clothes. i did not enjoy rearing skirts, dresses, all of that. maybe that was early symptoms of my dysphoria. gender dysphoria is that the discomfort and distress in individuals whose gender identity is different from their assigned sex at birth. i did not even find out what the lbgtq even meant until my middle school years when i had access to the internet through my phone. no adults ever taught me about it or told me anything about it.

and every day it gets better. being here in texas it's part of the bible belt so that there's a lot of conservative people here that maybe don't agree with the lbgtq lifestyle. and like early school days like elementary to lake middle school you don't really teach you a lot. only about like the reproductive system and safe sex between straight couples. and it led to no gay stuff. you can't do that. my to no gay stuff. you can't do that. my dysphoria started to manifest around the start of freshman year. it's just a really uncomfortable

feeling that feels like it's crying at the back of my neck and a 12 go away. —— it won't go away. at the time my hair was like about the song. make a really long. it was really heavy and causing me neck pain so i was like i went to get my haircut. i would use that reasoning almost as like a cover—up excuse for deep down what i actually really wanted my haircut. over time the feeling got stronger and stronger and they started vandalizing i think there's something different here. basically i got it all chopped off. when we went inside the car i immediately started bawling. i'm so happy. immediately started bawling. i'm so happy- i immediately started bawling. i'm so happy. i wanted this for so long. this feels better than i ever expected. when i finally realised

why i felt like that it was like a light bulb explosion. i was like oh my god it got me so excited. it was probably the big change in momentum to make me realise i'm probably transgender. i want to officially say hey, i want to be referred to as andi. from now on. if you guys have any questions at all feel free to swipe up and ask me, i would be glad to answer. i was scared obviously that some people might not think that some people might not think that it's ok. especially the adults but it felt like happy. make really happy.

the night before my birthday, i kind of was awake the entire time. i feel like a make up the real. i remember walking in school and thinking, god, i am an adult now. i'm a legal adult. it is my birthday. i am 18. then they got a text from a friend and she was like hey can you come up to the choir room real quick. she doesn't get upset much so i thought it was a serious problem. iwhen it was a serious problem. when everything _ it was a serious problem. when everything was _ it was a serious problem. when everything was ready _ it was a serious problem. when everything was ready i - it was a serious problem. when everything was ready i brought | it was a serious problem. when everything was ready i brought him upstairs— everything was ready i brought him upstairs and someone was videoing. | upstairs and someone was videoing. i was greeted with the entire room filled with a bunch of people getting surprise.— filled with a bunch of people getting surprise. filled with a bunch of people caettin surrise. ., , _ , ., getting surprise. happy birthday to

ou! she getting surprise. happy birthday to you! she spun _ getting surprise. happy birthday to you! she spun me _ getting surprise. happy birthday to you! she spun me around - getting surprise. happy birthday to you! she spun me around after - getting surprise. happy birthday to| you! she spun me around after they sto ed you! she spun me around after they stepped singing _ you! she spun me around after they stepped singing happy _ you! she spun me around after they stopped singing happy birthday - you! she spun me around after they stopped singing happy birthday and | stopped singing happy birthday and she said so since your like a legal aduu she said so since your like a legal adult now be kind of raised enough money for you to change her name. in my head i was like sensory overload. and as he can see in the video i completely broke down. and started crying. looking back on it makes me so extremely happy honestly. i didn't have to pay to be comfortable with my _ didn't have to pay to be comfortable with my name on paper, may legal name _ with my name on paper, may legal name so _ with my name on paper, may legal name so they should andi have to pace _ name so they should andi have to pace the — name so they should andi have to pace the video went viral. --

name so they should andi have to pace the video went viral.- pace the video went viral. -- the video went _ pace the video went viral. -- the video went viral. _ pace the video went viral. -- the video went viral. he _ pace the video went viral. -- the video went viral. he has - pace the video went viral. -- the video went viral. he has so - pace the video went viral. -- the j video went viral. he has so many --eole video went viral. he has so many peeple who _ video went viral. he has so many people who love _ video went viral. he has so many people who love and _ video went viral. he has so many people who love and support - video went viral. he has so many| people who love and support him. video went viral. he has so many i people who love and support him. it was not _ people who love and support him. it was not a _ people who love and support him. it was not a difficult task to get the money— was not a difficult task to get the money raised for him rather than having _ money raised for him rather than having him — money raised for him rather than having him have that burden himself. i feel like to completely separate people in my existence. from years ago to now. and that's the thing, i was always the same person but to me mentally at that like two different people that i've lived through. my my family, we have talked about my identity and all that but they are generally like ok now. at first they were not. not everything was perfect in this world but that's totally fine. they're like ok now. the story

behind this, i had a different cardboard sign taped to my door with my dead name but now i thought it strange that so i did. —— i thought let's change path, so i did. welcome. eitherare let's change path, so i did. welcome. either are my paintings that i have been. it is my most recent taping that i'm very proud of. now pertaining to my trans journey, i have been trying to take a picture of myself with my polaroid and every single one of my birthday. that's the shortest man here has ever been before i actually cut it and that's a year after. these plaques sample to be the most important facts that i will ever own. they are from a all—state base. my own. they are from a all—state base. my allstate priority. it'sjust own. they are from a all—state base. my allstate priority. it's just one huge choir. all the best singers in texas. i may have been that three times. and the third time i actually got to put my name like my actual

name on the plaque. the infamous birth certificate that i got that my friend gave me $400 to change my name. here is my closet. a lot of colours. and yes, that is my room. it is pink. it's very pink. it sucks, but that's ok. because i am going to be moving out anyways. i'm going to be moving out anyways. i'm going to be moving out anyways. i'm going to miss high school a lot. i think they think i'm going to miss the most is having so many friends and connections with everyone but i am looking forward to the next stage of my life and everything that's going to be happening next. it's going to be happening next. it's going to be really exciting. i'm really excited.

i have less than two weeks now until move—in day. all the stuff i'm going to need. it's so cool. it's my own card. it's a debit card. i am excited to move out of my parents house and into college where i can just be myself. i tell my family still uses my dead name and missjen there being dead names and being mispronounced is a lot more serious. a lot more on a deeper level than just the obvious. so when you do get misidentified like that it's a slap in the face every single time it happens. i understand where they come from when they have never had a really close interaction with a trans person and now their kid is one. so i can take the liberty to be

like ok i get it. today is the day. 0k ok so oksoi ok soiam ok so i am kind of teary—eyed because ijust ok so i am kind of teary—eyed because i just said ok so i am kind of teary—eyed because ijust said goodbye to my parents but this is it. i am here. i am fine. i'm just so excited. this is also near. —— new. so it's really exciting. later on i'm going to be watching a movie with friends. so that's nice. i will freshen up first because i've been sweating all day.

and yeah, this is it. first day of couege and yeah, this is it. first day of college classes. my first class is japanese and am really excited and that's an in person class so i get to go to the language building. i just got groceries for the first time and iforgot just got groceries for the first time and i forgot my card so that's fine. i try to get up in i hit my head. really hard. i love a building, and waking up early and being productive, this is weird. 0k, ok, i didn't even know where to begin. long story short i was not getting messages because my student e—mail changed from a dead name to

my actual name so i had to log in with my new e—mail and it finally got changed. now ijust have to get my id changed which i don't know how. one step at a time. my name is not andi, the only reason why is i have such an innate fear of changing it because of how my parents are going to react. there's only so much i can do to socially transition. i could cut my hair as short as i want, i can wear as much mass clothing as i want but that's all that i can do by myself. i feel my dysmorphic now than i did before. the more that i know that i have been physically dissuade as long as

i have is breaking me down. the more that time passes. sometimes you can't even get up in the day because you just feel extremely dysphoric. despite all of the really bad stuff that i have been experiencing, everything is coming to college it's done so much good for me because obviously people have been meeting me as andi. they have never known me before i came out and this is literally their first impression of me. forthe literally their first impression of me. for the past few months, four months i believe, i have been dating someone. we met online. meet over

tender of course. he actually took the liberty to go and do research about being trans and how it affects someone. it takes that one little storm cloud only from the rest of my giant thunderstorm. it's one little thing i don't have to worry about any more. christmas time in the burnaby household is fun in every other sense but it's outweighed by the fear of what i am going to have to

wear. hello, it is currently christmas morning. on this beautiful day on this bike that a.m. to short four. merry christmas. happy new year. before my family would take christmas pictures every single year. he would dress up fancy and the theme of whatever the christmas decorations wear. every year before this one i would wear a dress. but this one i would wear a dress. but this year, this year was so different because i were a suit. in any other circumstance, i don't think i would be able to but because of her christmas decorations were pink for 20/20, it gave me the perfect opportunity to be like hey mum, can a wear make pink suit for these christmas pictures because it's perfect and it's perfect in

everything. she agreed, she was like yes, sure you can wear that. it matches perfectly. i really felt like normal make and it was not an argument, it was not anything i had to spend weeks convincing, itjust happened. these are the special moments people talk about when they think of theirfamily moments people talk about when they think of their family and now i have one of those. it's really cool. it's my 19th birthday today. it's been exactly a year since my friends surprised me with the gift that they gave me. a year later and my name is still not legally andi. fear really does do something to a

person. i'm in college. i obviously cannot pay this myself at the moment. i don't have a job. and trying to look for one, and so i'm currently depending on the parents to pay my tuition and things like that. and so there's a possibility that they might not do that any more if i name changed. or if there is its ability to air their going to have to ask me to have it changed back. so today is the day that i'm going home. it's currently six something in the morning. and i am something in the morning. and i am so exhausted. i think this weekend i'm going to specifically bring up the topic of testosterone. because i

am at the age of where i can go do that. by myself. and really nervous honestly. it might get emotional, the conversation, but that's ok. this is nothing that i have not talked about before so it's not like it's anything new, like hello, i am trans out of nowhere. but yeah, we will see how it goes.

the main points within the conversation that we had that weekend was that she does not feel comfortable with me making big decisions like getting my name change by starting testosterone or getting my surgery until i am mature. and when they hope that my mum realises oh, this is serious, this is real, this is a matter pain that my child is going through and they are now realising that this is really important to them and that i need to be a supportive parent and help my kid be happy. it's not the last time that we will have this conversation. it'sjust going last time that we will have this conversation. it's just going to be a constant thing that's going to be happening that's probably never going to stop happening. it's taken me a while to accept the fact that things just me a while to accept the fact that thingsjust don't go me a while to accept the fact that things just don't go as planned and

you just got to keep going despite that. iam i am finallyjust at the point where i am finallyjust at the point where i can look back at myself and realise that i have become a lot more of myself. i am so glad that i did not give up when i really wanted to. because now i am here. this is my story and this is who i am and am honestly so glad that y'all have come along with us right with me and watch myjourney this past year. and theyjust watch myjourney this past year. and they just wanted to say thank you.

the weather next week looks like it will be coming to normal for this time of year but ahead of that it's still exceptionally mild for the next few days but into the new year. the high temperatures accompanied by blustery winds. they are coming the south and bringing them out of the air north into the uk. bringing with it a lot of crowd. they still got rain in the forecast on friday. most of it across central and southern scotland will become a and southern scotland will become a and patchy but will stay cloudy. other parts of the uk after early range of time to brighten up with sunshine coming through. it will be windy for many areas of the uk and very mild once again. 13 to 16

degrees. not as windy and scotland across northern parts of scotland areas a bit colder but not too bad if this time of year. if you will be heading out into the evening to see in the new year this is the weather we are expecting. patchy rain developing across northern and western parts of the uk as the wind started to pick up again. it's a sub and rained and that's where we stay in mild air as we head into the new year's day. we will find with that windy weather a of rain pushing east and things will brighten up from the list with sunshine and showers mainly west and scotland and northern ireland. some will be happy but again it's exceptionally mild for this time of year. waiting to 16 degrees. things will change after saturday because the wind direction changes that's hitting the uk instead of the southern wing it would be a west to southwest and reamed with mild air but not as mild. we will find after some sunshine to start the data showers are long spells of rain developing especially across southern and

western parts of the uk. it can be happy at times as well. temperatures will be about three degrees lower than saturday but still mild for this time of year. there is a weather system causing a few headaches but at the moment it looks like it will slide to the english channel and it could be further north or further south but away from the channel areas it looks like we into sunshine and blustery showers. still windy with some showers being heavy and we have got persistent wet weather coming into the northwest. it's mild on monday the above average for the time of year. there is colder air sitting to the north and it will push south as we move into tuesday. the wind direction will change to a northern wind and the colder air will sweep down behind what's left of the rain which will be light and patchy as it moves across england and wales with sunshine to stop the showers in the north and northeast will be wintry and it will feel much colder. this is going to come as a shock to the

system compared with what we've had lately. some cold and wind arriving tuesday and it was a lesson on wednesday but we are still in the cold air and then if we look into the atlantic we have got the next weather system pushing an overnight and into thursday. it will bring wet and into thursday. it will bring wet and windy weather east across the uk and windy weather east across the uk and after that the wind will come all the way back across the atlantic. it's not quite as cold as a mixture of different air masses but it will keep things unsettled. giving next week the weather and temperatures are going to be mere and normalfor this time temperatures are going to be mere and normal for this time of year but it will be windy at times and they will be sunshine but frequent and heavy showers over the hills in the north.

this is bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. the headlines... a key witness speaks publicly after ghislaine maxwell was found guilty of grooming underage girls to be abused byjeffrey epstein. i just feel so grateful that the jury believed us and sent a strong message that perpetrators of sexual abuse and exploitation will be held accountable, no matter how much power and privilege they have. the number of daily covid admissions to hospital in england has nearly doubled in a week — from just over 1000 a week ago to more than 2000. europe looks to build its defences against a new wave of covid infections as the number of cases continues to surge. days after launching into orbit, — it's the "make or break" moment

for the james webb space telescope as it starts to unfold its tennis